Czech Film - Changes - Andrew

Even though the Czech film that we watched focused its attention on the changes that take place late in life, I found that the many of the conflicts and struggles that took place could easily be applied to many of the other life transitions that fill the human experience, especially in the modern world. The Older Man's (lets call him Edward) struggle with work and his wife are not merely due to his flaws and weak moral fiber, instead they reflected a deep inward longing that was left dissatisfied by the life of retiree. Rather than wait out his final days and fearfully submit before the looming threat of death, Edward sought to recover real passion and the vitality of a younger man. Societies expectation is for the elderly to whittle away their days with books, soap operas, and bingo while occasionally allowing for the quintessential exercise activity of grizzled old men and women, walking in the park. Edward's wife (lets call her Theodora) only exacerbating the problem by assuming that Edward would settle down in his old age. Even after 40 years of marriage she greatly underestimated his needs and desires. I'm just saying, even the guy she fell in love with was incredibly dull.

We first saw Edward's struggles in the classroom. He was surrounded by youth who were not only disrespectful to him but also to the books that he had treasured his entire life. People can only passively tolerate the ridicule of their most treasured possessions for so long. What does a teacher become when his wisdom means nothing for his pupils? Edward felt that he was passing more and more into obscurity and uselessness.

The second example is from Edward's attempts to become a bike messenger (before coming to CNU I wanted to move to Chicago and get a job as a courier, so I personally understand this longing - for an awesome and entertaining read pick-up "The Immortal Class: Bike Messengers and the Cult of Human Power" - sorry, I digress) The allure of being a messanger is that it is one of the last rebel societies that still exists inside the world of capitalism. The messanger is essential to the machinations of all kinds of business but at the same time it is wholly seperate from them. Edward knew the intricacies of navigating through Prague - even if he had some communication problems with the dispatchers - and he had the necessary audacity to pedal through the weather side-by-side with cagers and tourists. In the end the problem was that his aged body and mind was unable to handle the job even when his will was entirely behind it.

Initially the job at the potraviny seemed to be a major let down, but the more I've thought about it the more it meshes with everything else. At the recycling center Edward was an essential part of people's lives and they not only appreciated and trusted him, they also engaged with him and made him a integral part of their daily life. Edward was able to realize that in this job people didn't see him as an old and easily ignorable man. The tragedy is that business cares very little for unprofitable sentimentality.

The last example I'll go into is Edwards rather scandalous dreams. In these sequences he entered into a world that was exciting and forbidden.

The final scene and the reconciliation between Edward and Theodora was tied to this theme of transition and rediscovery. For the two to come together it took Theodora choosing to go on this crazy experience with her husband, while Edward had to learn how to give up his striving for meaning and let it come to him naturally.

These were all themes and ideas that I could easily relate to, and I'd be curious to see if anyone feels the same way. I also felt the need to partially defend Edward against the soon to be coming onslaught of the female coalition.

If you read this whole thing, I applaud you.

In the immortal words of Tupac Amaru Shakur - "I got love for my brothers but we can never go nowhere unless we share with each other"